Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Here's my revised 2007 NBA Mock Draft. After the draft deadline and workouts, I have some changes from my last Mock Draft.

1. Portland Trail Blazers- Greg Oden, Ohio St.Please Portland, take Oden. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to take a player with this caliber. Big men like this are hard to come by these days and believe me, he won't disappoint. It would be smart to take him over Kevin Durant.

2. Seattle Sonics- Kevin Durant, TexasI bet the Sonics were jumping out of their pants when they heard they had the 2nd pick. Rashard Lewis will not be around anymore and Durant will be able to take his place immediately. He is a franchise type player and once he puts on some mass, he'll be an all star.

3. Atlanta Hawks- Al Horford, Florida

I am giving in. I decided to move up Horford a few spots. The Hawks will not waste another pick in drafting another versatile forward that they're loaded with already. The Hawks have many options here... they could use a PG in Mike Conley Jr. but I don't believe they will go that way with this high of a pick. Horford has been very impressive during the draft workouts and the Hawks need a post presence now.

4. Memphis Grizzlies- Yi Jianlian, ChinaThe Grizz need another post presence to compliment Pau Gasol. Yi can play all over the floor as well. He can take you inside or step out and hit a 20' foot jumper. He has great ball handling skills and is very light on his feet for a 7' footer. Here's an older post I did on him in case you want to know more about him: So, just who is Yi Jianlian?

5. Boston Celtics- Corey Brewer, FloridaBoston is still a pretty young team. They need another defender and scorer and Brewer brings that to the table. Brewer showed his last 2 years of college ball that he is a force on both ends of the court and Danny Ainge will not look past that. But don't be surprised if the Celtics trade this pick either.

6. Milwaukee Bucks- Brandan Wright, UNC

After weighing in at a slim 200 pounds, teams are wondering how long it will take for Wright's body to catch up to his amazing talent. A lot may argue that the Bucks will pick a big man but they still have Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villaneuva; and at the SF position they have oldies in Charlie Bell and Ruben Patterson. Wright would fit in well for Milwaukee.

7. Minnesota T'Wolves- Mike Conley Jr., Ohio St.The Wolves have desperately needed a PG over the years and now is their chance to get a great one. Conley is what you like to see in a PG... he thinks pass first, sees the court so well, and can get to basket whenever he needs too. Him and Garnett (if he isn't traded) could make a great tandem.

8. Charlotte Bobcats- Jeff Green, Georgetown

Green falls down a few notches after moving up Horford. Green is a type of player that can contribute right away. He has the skills and attributes of an NBA player and I feel he is ready. Gerald Wallace is set for free agency and Green will be able to fill in for him.

9. Chicago Bulls- Joakim Noah, FloridaThe Bulls haven't been satisfied with Ben Wallace, and P.J. Brown will be retiring soon. This is a great opportunity for them to get a big man that will take them to the next level, and help out the great young talent they already have in Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Tyrus Thomas.

10. Sacramento Kings- Julian Wright, KansasThe Kings are in a rebuilding mode and could use Wright's athletic talent and potential. He is very unselfish which will make Mike Bibby and Ron Artest happy (if they both stay). Wright has a lot of strengths and will bring a lot to this organization.

11. Atlanta Hawks- Acie Law, Texas A&M

This is where I think the Hawks need to address their PG problems. I think the Hawks will make a long hard decision between Law and Javaris Crittenton (Complete Sports thinks it will be Crittenton). Both great overall PG's, but Law's experience playing 4 years at College Station and his leadership will be the main reasons the Hawks will take him.

12. Philadelphia 76ers- Al Thornton, FSUThis is where the Sixers will take the best available. Thornton could benefit a lot from playing behind a player like Andre Igoudala and his one on one skills are what the Sixers want in a forward.

13. New Orleans Hornets- Nick Young, USCThe Hornets could use a SG/SF and Young would probably be the best available at those positions. Young would be a great scorer to have off the bench. His athletic ability is tough to pass up on as well.

14. Los Angeles Clippers- Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech

The Clippers need a point guard badly. Sam Cassell is a year away from retirement and you can't rely on the health of Shaun Livingston. Crittenton has tons of talent and he is your typical NBA prototype PG.

15. Detroit Pistons- Spencer Hawes, Washington

The Pistons will need another big man sooner or later. So now is a great time to get a great talent in Spencer Hawes. I think Hawes could contribute right away. His passing ability and smart play fit in greatly in Detroit.

10 comments:

I'm really pumped for the draft... I won't be able to watch it live because I have to work :(, but it should be really, really interesting. I really think the first 3 picks are just about settled (Oden-Durant-Horford), but anything could happen after that, including a number of trades. It's gonna be excellent.

I'm really interested to see if minnesota shops KG before tonight because I think there is a good chance that they'll scramble to get something done. I have to work as well. There must be kind of a local conspiracy to keep us bloggers away from watching the draft or something!

How do you figure Memphis and Milwaukee passing on Conley? In Memphis, Damon Stoudemire has issues with his knee, Chucky Atkins is a free agent, and Kyle Lowry only played 10 games because of a wrist injury. And even if they don't go pg, the Grizzlies are looking for a center so they could put gasol at his true position, power forward. Add to this the fact that Yi doesn't have a desire to play in Memphis and the Grizzlies would have to deal with the Chinese government and I think Memphis passes on Yi. For Milwaukee, I feel like a point guard or a swing player is a more pressing need with Mo Williams being a free agent. They already have Villanueva and Bogut at the 4 and the 5 and Redd at the 2, they just have to figure out what they want to do at pg and what they are going to do at the 3. I really like that you have Spencer Hawes out of the lottery, I agree he's pretty overrated. Good stuff.

Secondly it is just personal opinion but I would rather MIL get Green, Brewer, or Conley in the draftthan Wright really. It will be really interesting to see what happens though. They just need a decent/good 1 and 3 to compliment Redd, Villanueva, and Bogut.

He is. I'm just not totally convinced with him being able to make a transition to being a good 3 in the NBA. Plus I think I would rather have them address the PG position first for the sake of immediate success next season.